cliche
by strawbella
Summary: After the incident in the club, Mikan becomes Natsume's fake girlfriend. But will this rock and roll relationship become for real? With the help of the other band members, this pair might just get their wake-up call.
1. just a coincidence right?

Cliché

By: Ozawa-chan

xxx

SUMMARY: Who knew that arguing about a seat in an incubus concert with a rock star could lead you to your own fame? Or even better: your own love life?

Xxx

"Mikan would you please hurry up?" I was shouted by Hotaru.

okay, so today is sort of Hotaru's birthday. She's a very big fan of Incubus, and the funny thing is, they have a concert here, today at Tokyo, and the location is just a walk away from the arena, just coincidence right?

By the way, I'm Mikan. I'm your average teen who loves art and well, art! I live with Hotaru now because I have no parents and I've been best friends with her since forever!

"Okay, okay! I'm coming!" Seriously, the concert isn't 3 hours from now!

"You'd better!" argh. Argh. Argh.

Xxx

Finally, we were able to get our seats. Who knew that coming in this concert 3 hours early would be a good idea? Our seats are very near to the stage, so close that you can see the tiny mineral water that they drink when they finish the song. Told ya she was a fan.

"Uhm, excuse me miss, but this is my seat?" said by a deep voice

I looked at him, wondering if it was me he was talking to.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you" woah, psychic much!

"I'm sorry, but this is my seat"

He glared at me, and I have no idea why. I was polite right?

"Don't you know who I am?" he asked me, quite pissed. Hotaru held my arm, tying to stop me from fuming but I won't let this OBNOXIOUS guy get MY seat, no matter who HE is!

"Well, whoever you are, this is my seat, I can show you my ticket (she showed him her ticket). See, it says, A7 V.I.P." In your face!!!!

He also took his ticket and read it. He had a questioning look, i wonder why.

"Hmm. Weird. Mine says A7 V.I.P too." and he sounded polite now?

"Hey, Natsume, do we have any problem here?" said by a guy in dark blue hair with a star tattoo on his face.

"Yeah, me and this girl has the same seat." he said not looking

"Well, you can take my other ticket, (He looks at Natsume's ticket) it's A9 V.I.P"

"Why do you have two ticket's" he asked the star-guy

"The other one's for my gf but she couldn't come"

The two of them took their seats, the guy with a star on his face sat beside me. It was peaceful and only a few minutes before the concert when Hotaru came to her senses. She looked at the guys sitting beside me and gasped.

"OMG! You two are members of SLAYER!!!" she shouted, but the guy with the star covered her mouth.

"Yeah, we are, but could you pipe down, we don't wanna cause any riot here" the guy whispered to Hotaru.

Xxx

the concert started, thankfully, Hotaru was busy bangin' her head so i know she won't notice me.

The guy beside me offered his hand for a handshake.

"Hello, I'm Tsubasa Andou, manager of SLAYER, how bout you?"

"I'm Mikan Sakura, sorry, i don't know that band" I said while shaking his hand.

"That's okay, you know. So, you're an art student huh?"

"yeah, how did you know?"

"when i shook your hand your the middle part of your index finger was rough and it had charcoal"

I cleaned my hand after what he said. After a few minuted, he talked tome again.

"Uhm. We were sort of doing this new album and judging you, i know you can make a very nice album cover for us. So i was wondering if you could work with us this summer"

I was amazed by his offer but dang it i have to visit my cousin this summer! And i can't cancel this no more because we've planned this for ages! Shoot!!!

"I'm sorry, but i have to visit my cousin this summer, and we've planned it so long it would be a waste to cancel it." His face dimmed.

"Mind if I ask you what the name of your cousin is?"

"Uh, it's Ruka Nogi, why'd you ask?"

"that's odd. I have a band mate named Ruka Nogi, does this cousin of yours live in Florida?"

"actually yeah. I think we're talking bout the same person here."

"so maybe I'll see you in summer then." he gave me a sweet smile

"Yeah, maybe" I smiled back

Well, that was weird. Ruka never told me about being in a band, maybe that was his big news for me!

Sad thing though, i have to see the face of that bastard who seats besides Tsubasa. he.is.such.a.jerk!

But I won't let him ruin this day. I stood up with Hotaru and banged my head with the music.

After all, arguing seats with a rock star who is the band mate of your dear cousin whom you're gonna stay with the whole summer is just a mere coincidence right? Right?

Xxx

**Happy Holidays people! Tell me what you think. I know there ain't much of MikanXNatsume here but I assure you there'll be a lot in the next chapters!**

**Mr. Review wants you to press _his _button. Ooh. Sexy.**


	2. The after party

Cliché Chapter 2: The After-Party

* * *

Five guys were waiting at the arrival area of the Florida airport. All of them were in disguise as if to avoid an unlikely commotion.

To kill time, they started rating girls that were passing-by them. One being the lowest and ten being the highest. One girl was rated 7 for her bare midriff, but when she started talking on her phone, her high-pitched voice got her down to a 5. another girl was rated 4, a blonde one was scored 6. None of the girls in the airport seem to please this "masked" gentlemen.

But there was this particular Japanese girl that got one of the guys particular attention. Natsume, the vocalist and lead guitarist of the band Slayer, the band in disguise right now in the airport, rated the brunette Japanese girl a 20 out of 10. Kaoru and Mori, also member of the said band scored the same. Tsubasa felt as if he had met this 20-scoring girl before, but he can't seem to recall. And then suddenly she went approaching their way.

"Oh lucky day, I'm scoring a hottie!" Mori exclaimed.

"No dude, I saw her first!" retorted Kaoru.

"You idiots, I saw her first!" said Natsume.

The brunette approaching them had her hair falling down below her chest, her curly hair shining and looking very healthy. She was wearing a yellow sun dress, complimenting her shape and her skin color at the same time. She was carrying a luggage bag and a tote bag and she was also wearing black Ray-ban sunglasses. She looked like a model.

Ruka,also a member of the band, just got back from that long line in the coffee shop. He wondered what the other guys were staring at, and once he saw the person they were looking at, he just laughed and went to her direction. The other members felt betrayed because they saw the girl first, and Ruka was gonna steal her from them. Tsubasa then finally remembered who she was. He wanted to tell the other three, but he wanted to see their priceless reactions.

"Ruka always scores the ladies, aside from Natsume that is. Hey, Natsume, why don't you go and grab her, since you "saw" her first." suggested Kaoru.

"Yeah, you can't just let good-looking girls slip away like that. Show Ruka who's boss."

"Technically, I'm the boss." Tsubasa said jokingly.

Ruka and the brunette approached the other band members, only to deliver a shocking news.

"Hey guys, this is my cousin Mikan Sakura."

* * *

"You are seriously not related to Ruka! Please tell me you're not! Because if you are, I would never get a chance to date you, let alone be near you!" Mori and Kaoru pleaded.

"Give it up morons, she's my cousin. And stop scaring her, she's pretty tired, a 19 hour flight from Tokyo to here, its exhausting."

"No its okay, I'm not that tired, really. And you guys are?" she asked, waiting for an introduction.

"Oh, I'm Kaoru Aatari and he is Mori Kotatsu. I play the rhythm guitar and he plays the drums."

"That's pretty sweet." she complimented.

"And I'm sure you remember me from the Incubus concert? Oh and Natsume too."

"Yes! How could I forget you Tsubasa? You were so nice, compared to Natsuke."

"its Natsume you moron."

"oh so the cold hard stone can speak."

The other members of the band just looked at them with satisfaction.

"Your cousin is amusing Ruka." complimented Kaoru.

"It runs in the blood." he smirked.

The limousine stopped in front of a huge white mansion with gold barreled gates. There was a huge fountain in the center front which the limousine drove around to get the the front door.

'Welcome to your summer rest house Mikan." said Ruka

"More like palace, Ruka."

"Haha. Come in, the butler will carry your bags to your room."

They were in the living room. It was so... spacious. Everything was elegant and high-class. There were huge posters of famous rock bands scattered around the house. The whole house itself felt like some rock concert arena.

"Like it?" Ruka asked.

"Like it? I love it! Who's the designer?"

"Jane Carlisle."

"Of course! She's amazing. I'm not into interior designing, but she really turned this house into a fine masterpiece!"

"Glad to hear that from an artist."

"Heh. Anytime."

As Mikan was looking around the room, she noticed one of the posters on the wall was Ruka's band, Slayer. She didn't like the picture that much. The lighting was awful, one can totally notice the blurry movement of the camera when the photographer shot it. The photographer should have used a faster f-stop and a higher ISO, preferably 800. Even the lead singer Natsume, who in Mikan's opinion is quite good-looking though his attitude isn't, he even looked _wrong_ in this huge picture. Gah, how Mikan wanted to take a picture of the band and replace this ugly unprofessional one.

"Oh so you're an artist eh Mikan? That's pretty cool. Which are you most good at?" asked Mori, interrupting Mikan's mental criticism of the band's poster.

"Well, I don't know. I paint, I draw and photograph. I'm not really good at sculpting or textiles."

"SWEEET. Maybe you could do the cover art of our album for us!"

"That is what I proposed to her when I met her at the concert." added Tsubasa.

"Really, I'm not that good at art. I just really happen to know a lot about it.'

"Oh don't be modest Mikan, I'm sure you're phenomenal."

"You haven't even seen my works, Ruka."

"true. But I'm sure they're great."

"Do you happen to have them with you?" asked Mori.

"Well my paintings are in Tokyo, but I have my camera with me and I have my sketches too."

"RIGHTEOUS! Can we see them?"

"Maybe."

"Oh come onnnnnnnnnnnn." Kaoru and Mori pleaded.

"Fine, I'll show you later. Can I see my room, Ruka?"

"Sure. Follow me.'

The other four just seem to tag along. Mori and Ruka talked most of the time while Tsubasa just gave his two cents every once in a while. Natsume on the other hand, seemed distant. He wasn't talking at all, he was... detached. Mikan wondered why he is unbelievably quiet, but she ended up not caring about that cold-hearted jerk.

She followed Ruka on her way to her room and so did the others. They went upstairs and went inside a blank room. It wasn't painted. There was a bed, a closet, a lamp, a desk, and a chair. Nothing more.

"Wow, you gave me the most beautiful room in the house." She sarcastically said.

"Well, when Jane was painting, she wanted to know who own the rooms, and when she found out that it was an artist's room, she wanted you to be the one to personalize it." Ruka explained.

"But I'm only staying here this summer, you can't give me a room."

"I figured you would rather paint than go tanning or swimming here in Florida."

"You know me too well."

She looked around the walls, already imagining what she would paint. But there were so many choices. Should it be nature-inspired? Or should it have a political message? How about a historical concept? Should she do a recreation of one of her favorite masterpieces? Or should she continue the rock-inspired theme of the mansion?

"Before you start daydreaming with your painting fantasies, here are some of the addresses of art stores here. Chuck, the limousine driver, would gladly bring you there."  
"You are always prepared, it scares me." she smiled at him.

"So, Mikan, Do you want to hear our music now?" asked Kaoru.

"Oh yeah. Lets hear it."

"To the studio guys!"

* * *

"Uhm guys, why is your studio at the basement? There is plenty of room in this house."

"Well, we like the underground feel of it."Tsubasa explained.

"Take a seat here Mikan."

"Okay, so this is one of the songs that we've recorded for our demo CD. Its called 'Bada Bing! Wit A Pipe'."

"Alright. Play it."

There was no intro, she noticed, just straight up to the first verse.

_Roll with the punches  
Because you know that it's inevitable  
Soon to be unforgettable, yet, totally unpredictable  
I'm either calling it quits or you're calling me out  
Its not who or what you know because you're better with nothing at all._

_Sing it back to me; this is your life story  
You didn't even know it you're trying not to blow it  
Because you're kicking back a death wish and here I am just riding out the storm  
Believe me when I say that I want to give up I want to give up but its bad enough to keep me hooked just to watch you curse my name and toss and turn_

_Turn around and cross the line you so casually walk between function and fashion  
Are you dressed to kill or dressed to impress?  
Don't act like you can do better than this._

_Let me see you put your hands upon the stereo  
Its spitting out a ridiculous frequency  
But turn it up turn it up  
Break a sweat  
'Cuz were just burning up and hitting up the scene that was ours to hit up  
Take take me out because I'm ready for your best shot  
Make make me out to be a bullet from the pulpit  
Or anything that would make you believe  
All that we've seen would be just another scene  
That was our to hit up_

Natsume saw Mikan lip singing the chorus of the song. Ruka also saw it and wondered. Natsume just looked at her, somewhat fascinated. It is true that she is pretty, but she is really annoying too. But then again, who cares? If a girl is pretty, she's pretty. Something about her though makes her stand out. She's different from the other pretty-faced girls he had met, she has talent. Is it possible that he likes Ruka's cousin? Hopefully not. Natsume can't imagine being with this annoying brunette ever. Take note: EVER.

Ruka just stared at Natsume. Is it possible that his best friend likes his cousin? Maybe she is what Natsume needs right now. Ruka never knew he was going to play cupid. He had never seen Natsume look at a girl like that for a long time. Pairing this two up might be worth the shot.

_Play it back for me, if you feel you've got to  
Do you want to call it intuition  
'Cuz after intermission we'll be flashing the house lights  
To let you know that we're back in action  
Simply for your satisfaction_

Then Tsubasa stopped the song.

"You know the song?" inquired Ruka.

"Well, Hotaru is one of your biggest fans and she made me listen to your demo CD."

"Sweet. Do you like it?" asked Kaoru."

"Well yeah!"

"Seriously? What do you think should we improve on?"

"Well, I thought it was already good. But if you guys are planning to change anything, I suggest that you keep the pre-bridge guitar riff. That was pretty gnar."

"You loved that part? Cool! That was Natsume's idea."

"He was also the one who wrote the song." added Mori.

"At least that jerk's good at somehting." she whispered to herself.

"What did you say?" Natsume asked. Who knew he could hear so well?

"Nothing. 'Kicking back a deathwish.' That was clever Hyugga."

"Hmph." Natsume just ignored it and looked away again.

"Seems like you know what the song means Mikan. Not one of us, aside form Natusme, knows what it means." said Ruka.

"I'm not really sure but I feel that the song is about the scene mentality, but most definitely about moving on when people don't like what you have for them, 'roll with the punches', they're posers anyway, 'are you dressed to kill or dressed to impress'. But that's just my opinion."

Natsume was pretty impressed on how she managed to understand most of the meaning of the song. Even Tsubasa, the first person who heard this song, didn't understand it, he usually gets the meaning of the song quickly but this song was too deep for him. He was also impressed when Mikan complimented the 'kicking back a deathwish' part. Secretly, Natsume liked that part too. This girl might be something after all.

"Wow, amazing. Is that what it really means Natsume?"

Natsume just nodded

"HAHA. You go girl!" praised Mori.

The phone suddenly rang and Tsubasa answered it.

"Yeah okay we'll be there." Then he hung up the phone.

"Guys, we're invited to the X-club's opening party tonight. They also want us to perform one of our songs." Tsubasa informed the others.

"Awesome! We are rocking it out tonight my friends!" Kaoru exclaimed.

"How about our fan girl issue? Remember the last time we went public?" said Ruka.

"Maybe we should bring a date so that we could avoid those crazy girls." suggested Mori.

"good idea bro, I'll hit up Nonoko!" said Kaoru.

"dang, I was planning to call her!" said Mori.

"She has a twin remember?" said Natsume. Speaking up for the first time.

"Oh yeah!"

"SCORE!" said the drummer and the guitarist simultaneously.

"I'll probably call Misaki." Then Tsubasa started dialing on his phone.

"HAHA! You mean the girl that can beat the crap out of you? Are you sure you don't want to hire Misaki as our body guard?" Kaoru was trying to make a joke.

Kaoru and Mori can be seen laughing at Tsubasa in the background. Meanwhile..

"How about you Natsume?" asked Ruka.

"I don't wanna go to the party."

"But you have to go, you're the front man. Sort-off important." said Tsubasa.

Ruka saw this as his curtain call to be Cupid.

"Why don't you take Mikan?"

"WHAT?" said the vocalist and the artist.

"Why would I go with him? And who said I was going? I wasn't even invited!" the artist retorted.

"Whoa. Hold on there, chill. Guess what? You're invited." said Kaoru.

"You're going to the party with us." said Mori.

"And your date is Natsume." said Ruka.

"I don't want to be that baka's date!" The pair said together.

The other four gentlemen just looked at the two with disbelief. The three easily figured out what Ruka was trying to do. Those two really are a perfect match.

"So Mikan, do you happen to have a party dress with you?" Ruka said, looking victorious.

Mikan just sighed in defeat.

* * *

At the party...

"Hello ladies." said Kaoru and Mori"

"Hello Kaoru-san, Mori -san." said Anna and Nonoko.

"Shall we?" offering their hands two the two women.

"Hey Misaki! Over here!" Tsubasa waved to her direction.

"Oh there you are Tsubasa, what's up?" she said and she does a knuckle-touch with him. Tsubasa secretly hides the pain from the "touch"

"Misaki, this is Mikan, my cousin." introduced Ruka.

"Hi Mikan! God, you are so pretty! And I see your date's Natsume! How adorable! I'll leave you kids alone, let's go Tsubasa." She dragged the helpless Tsubasa to the dance floor.

Mikan just blushed from her compliment and Natsume just looked distant as ever.

"Do you want a drink Kasumi?" Ruka asked his date for the night.

"Sure, let's go to the bar."

The two couple left Mikan and Natsume alone.

"How about we take a seat?" offered Mikan.

"Hn."

"I'll take that as a yes."

The two took a seat on one of the VIP tables. Mikan was enjoying the music and looking around the club while Natsume was pretending to play with his drink while he was actually staring at Mikan.\

She looked gorgeous with her Little Black Dress, her hair straightened and that lovely smell of Ralph Lauren perfume. He is being intoxicated right now, and he is fighting hard to resist it.

She caught him looking at her.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Then stop glaring at me. I don't want to be here as much as you do, but were here right now so we should make the most of it." she smiled at him.

"You always look so distant, Hyugga. If something's bothering you, let it out. You can tell me... if you want to, I'll listen."

"You're suddenly nice now." he said.

"Well, I was only kidding earlier, I figured the only way you'll actually talk and get in the conversation is if someone insults you."

"You're still annoying."

"but hey, it works right? You are actually talking to me now. Now let me take advantage of this situation. The poster of your band in the mansion, who took that shot?"

"my ex-girlfriend." damn. Why is she so easy to talk to, thought Natsume.

"Oh."

"What?"

"its nothing."

"I know that you think its not the greatest picture ever, so did we, but it was a gift."

"Ah."

"would you stop the one-syllable responses?"

"I will if you will." she laughed.

And for once, Natsume smiled.

* * *

"We gladly present to you one of the most famous underground bands here in Florida, SLAYER!"

They played the same song that Mikan was listening to earlier, but in Mikan's opinion, they sounded better live. She looked at the crowd, gawking at the band with amazement, Music was also art, and she loved the joy that this band's music brings.

_Let me see you put your hands upon the stereo  
Its spitting out a ridiculous frequency  
But turn it up turn it up  
Break a sweat  
'Cuz were just burning up and hitting up the scene that was ours to hit up  
Take take me out because I'm ready for your best shot  
Make make me out to be a bullet from the pulpit  
Or anything that would make you believe  
All that we've seen would be just another scene  
That was our to hit up_

She took her camera, a Canon EOS 350D, and took pictures of the band. She took several group shots in different angles, she even had a shot that all of them, except for the drummer, was in mid-air. She then took individual shots of the band. Mori had the drummer head-banging look with one of his stick flying on the air, just about to hit one of the hi-hats. Ruka had a side-view show with his bass guitar held up vertically. Mori had a jumping shot with his Ibanez electric guitar. But Natsume's shot was the most stellar. He was just standing still, his face was close to the microphone and he was holding the guitar. He was looking far away, as usual, but there was a glitter in his eyes, and it enchanted Mikan.

Is she falling for him?

* * *

Natsume was looking for Mikan when he was playing with his band, she wasn't at the table that he left her last. He didn't know that she was in front of him, taking his picture. Maybe that's why his eyes were glittering, because he was looking for Mikan. When Mikan sat back to her table, Natsume finally saw her. He concluded that she probably went to the bathroom.

Then he saw a sight he didn't want to see. A guy sat with Mikan in her table, and he was obviously flirting with her. Good thing that the song he was playing was nearly done because he can't wait to punch that pervert in the face. But why would he want to protect her from that stranger? He just met her. He said he is annoyed by her. So why bother? Maybe its because she is related to his best friend. How long will he deny his feelings?

The song stopped at last. The crowd went crazy. Natsume is about to go crazy.

He hurriedly and furiously approached Mikan's table.

"Come on just one kiss." begged the stranger to Mikan.

"Leave me alone."

"Hey, the girl said leave her alone buddy," said Natsume.

"And who are you to say that? Her boyfriend?" the stranger replied.

Natsume pulled Mikan away from the stranger and held her arm. She was standing proximally beside Natsume

"Yeah, I am her boyfriend, you got a problem with that?" Natsume impulsively answered.

Mikan was just, how do we put it?, shocked. And definitely baffled.

"Oh really now?" the pervert taunted him.

In a split second, Natsume pulled Mikan by her waist, kissing her quickly. The other members of the band saw all of it, and on the inside, they were cracking up.

Before Mikan could even get a chance to slap Natsume and the stranger altogether, Natsume stopped her hand and pulled her to the other end of the club.

Mori, Kaoru, Ruka, and Tsubasa just followed them, waiting for the action to happen.

* * *

Sorry for the REALLY late update.

Forgive me? I gave you a NxM kiss didn't I?

:

**Mr. Review wants you to press _his_ button one more time. _Oh yeah_, just like that.**


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